Give the security advisory one opening time

Choose a lock

Timelock. Timelock uses drand, a network that publishes public random numbers every three seconds. Your advisory needs a future number to open. It relies on drand operators releasing that number on schedule. People you send the link to cannot open the advisory early.

Timelock costs $3 USD per Postdate. This covers opening dates within one year and 100 MB including encryption and file packaging. Opening depends on drand and Postdate being available, and on the encryption remaining secure. Senders can keep original copies. Postdates can still expire or be removed for abuse. You see the price before you create the link. Read about Timelock.

Send it before it opens

You share an advisory across a dozen companies. Someone may forward the email or paste it into a public issue tracker. The advisory could become public before the fixes are ready.

Send a link that keeps the advisory hidden until the agreed time. Forwarding it does not reveal the advisory early. Everyone can read it at the same opening time. Send maintainers any details they need to prepare fixes separately.

What people see

Before opening

They see a countdown. Any public teaser you wrote also appears.

After opening

They can read the text and download attached files until the link expires. Files supported by the browser can also be previewed.

Vendors see a countdown to the disclosure time. They can add a calendar event and copy the link. They also see any public teaser you wrote. The advisory and patch notes stay encrypted until opening. File names and sizes stay hidden too. Vendors can open the advisory in their browser at the disclosure time. The link expires after the availability period you chose, measured from the scheduled opening time.

Adding a calendar event downloads a file to import into your calendar. Set any reminder there. Postdate does not send opening notifications.

Create your Postdate

1. 01

   Write the advisory and attach the patch details.

2. 02

   Set the opening time to the agreed release hour.

3. 03

   Choose Timelock to protect the link until its scheduled opening.

4. 04

   Send the link to the embargo list.

Prepare the advisory Timelock: $3. No delete link.

Limits

Standard is free for advisories that open within 7 days and are 1 MB or less. Timelock, later dates, or more than 1 MB cost $3 once. You can choose a date up to a year away. Your text and up to 10 files must fit within 100 MB after encryption and packaging. With Timelock, the link needs the scheduled drand release to open.

Compare Postdate with scheduled email

A scheduled email is sent later. A Postdate link can be shared now, with the same opening time for every reader. Postdate does not send the link or an opening notification for you. It shows when the Postdate was created.

Common questions

What if one recipient forwards the link?

Anyone who gets the link sees a countdown and any public teaser you wrote. They cannot read the advisory until the opening time.

Can I add recipients after sending?

Yes. Send the same link to anyone else on the embargo list. Postdate has no recipient list to update.

Can everyone read the advisory at the same time?

Everyone can read it at the same scheduled time. Timelock uses drand, a network that publishes the public random number needed for opening. The drand release determines when decryption becomes possible. Reading also requires Postdate to serve the encrypted content. A network delay or service outage can delay access.

More guides

Set a coordinated disclosure date, Share product launch files that open together

Browse all guides or read about Postdate.